US Reporter Held Captive in North Korea Calls Sister
Laura Ling was able to call her sister, Lisa Ling, from a North Korean prison late on Tuesday, the first time she had made a call in weeks.
As tensions continue to rise between North Korea and the rest of the world as a result of their nuclear ambitions, the issue of the two US journalists currently imprisoned there seems to have fallen by the wayside. Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been imprisoned in North Korea since March 17 of this year, after they were arrested near the border or China and North Korea. They were working on a story covering North Korean refugees fleeing into China.
North Korea charged the two reporters with an illegal border crossing and an unspecified "grave crime." They have been sentenced to 12 years in prison in North Korea. During her conversation with her sister, Laura Ling said, "Look, we violated North Korean law and we need our government to help us. We're sorry about everything that happened but now we need diplomacy."
It's unclear why or how Ling was given access to a telephone or whether or not Euna Lee was also given a phone call. It is also unclear as to what role North Korea wants the reporters to play in trying to gain leverage with the US and the rest of the world as it calls for North Korea to back off of its drive to obtain nuclear weapons.
Both reporters were working for Current TV at the time of their arrest, a media company that is supported by former VP Al Gore. Hillary Clinton and US officials have continuously asked for the release of the reporters on humanitarian grounds, but no progress has been made on that front to date.
North Korea charged the two reporters with an illegal border crossing and an unspecified "grave crime." They have been sentenced to 12 years in prison in North Korea. During her conversation with her sister, Laura Ling said, "Look, we violated North Korean law and we need our government to help us. We're sorry about everything that happened but now we need diplomacy."
It's unclear why or how Ling was given access to a telephone or whether or not Euna Lee was also given a phone call. It is also unclear as to what role North Korea wants the reporters to play in trying to gain leverage with the US and the rest of the world as it calls for North Korea to back off of its drive to obtain nuclear weapons.
Both reporters were working for Current TV at the time of their arrest, a media company that is supported by former VP Al Gore. Hillary Clinton and US officials have continuously asked for the release of the reporters on humanitarian grounds, but no progress has been made on that front to date.
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
- North Korea Fires Missiles, Continues to Antagonize the World
- North Korea Likely to Fire Missile Toward Hawaii in Coming Weeks
- North Korea Antagonizing World Powers, Threatens U.S. Ships
- North Korea Ignores World Powers, Conducts Nuclear Weapons Test
- U.S. Calls on North Korea to "Cease Its Provocative Threats"
- North Korea Missile Launch Prompts U.S. Anti-Missile Ships
- North Korea Accuses Obama of Infringing on its Sovereignty
- North Korea: Genocide
- North Korea to Boycott Nuclear Talks After Un Condemns Rocket Launch
- North Korea Launches Long-range Rocket
- Japanese Papers Say North Korea Statement Expected
- North Korea Rebuilding Reactor
- US Unveils Plan to End North Korean Nuclear Ambitions
- US Claims Video Shows North Korea Helped Build Syrian Reactor
- New York Philharmonic to Play in North Korea
- North Korea Insists It is Off Us Blacklist
- Red Cross Issues $5.5m Appeal for North Korea Flood Victims
- Flooding Devastates North Korea
- U.S. Bans Sales of iPods, Segways, and Harleys to North Korea
- The Nuclear Issue in North Korea
- The Clash of the Koreans: Naval Skirmish in the Yellow Sea
- Freed Journalists were Forced into North Korea to be Arrested
- Hillary Clinton Not Hopeful that North Korean Relations will Improve
- Playing the Waiting Game: How Kim Jong Il Beats the U.S.